Canadian Government Moves Forward With Credit Card Check Ban

A proposed rule will ban credit card companies from sending unsolicited credit card checks in the mail to their cardholders. The ban, which is now in a 30-day comment period before final rules are enacted later this year.

The move follows a promise made in last year’s federal budget. The government says confusion is caused by these products because often, card users are unaware that such cheques are treated as cash advances: interest charges start accumulating immediately without the usual grace period that applies to card purchases.

New consumer rules were also announced on consumer mortgages, with the goal of making clearer disclosures on mortgage product types, as well as clearer disclosure of prepayment penalties.